Background
The governing Mongolian People’s Party retained a majority in parliamentary elections but the opposition made large gains.
Impunity
In September, Russian president Vladimir Putin made an official visit at the invitation of President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa. Despite an arrest warrant issued by the ICC in March 2023, the authorities failed to fulfil Mongolia’s obligation as a party to the Rome Statute to arrest President Putin, and instead formally welcomed him.1
Freedom of expression
Article 13.14 of the Criminal Code was used to file investigations and claims against journalists and citizens who criticized authorities. The National Police Agency confirmed that as of 25 December, the police had received a total of 697 complaints based on “spreading of false information” under Article 13.14. Sixteen of these were related to journalists; four cases were forwarded to the prosecutor to initiate a criminal case.
Repeated police investigations of journalists, especially during an election year, undermined press freedom. Unurtsetseg Naran, editor-in-chief of the news site Zarig, was sentenced to almost five years’ imprisonment on multiple charges, including spreading false information, during a closed-door trial.
Detainees’ rights
In May, Amnesty International submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Constitutional Court of Mongolia on the international human rights law applicable to police detention, with a focus on the right to liberty and security of person.2 The brief discussed the constitutionality of Article 26.2 of the Law on Police Service, which concerns the limits for temporary detention. In June, the Constitutional Court ruled Article 26.2 unconstitutional.
Right to a healthy environment
Mining operations continued to negatively affect water sources, land rights and livelihoods of herders. In July, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples expressed concern over the effect of mining activities on water sources and grasslands where livestock graze. He also noted that mining dust was deteriorating cashmere wool quality, affecting the livelihood of herders. Another concern raised was the decline in traditional practices of herders.
Economic, social and cultural rights
Right to social security
While the government had regularly increased retirement pensions since 2005, pension rates did not keep pace with inflation. They remained insufficient to cover living expenses, driving older people into poverty. Regulations attempting to adjust benefits based on inflation affected older people, leading to reductions in their benefits and resulting in lower payments than they would otherwise receive.
Right to housing
After the Law on Reduction of Traffic and Housing for Ger District in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, was rushed through in December 2023, almost 2,000 households on 158 hectares of land were forcibly evicted and more remained at risk of eviction. The evictions were violations of the right to housing as residents were not ensured the rights to information, free, prior and informed consent and access to remedy.
